VA grants burial rights for same-sex Oregon couple PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to allow the same-sex spouse of a member of the military to be buried in a U.S. national cemetery. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki granted a waiver of department policy to allow the burial of Nancy Lynchild’s ashes, the agency said in a statement Thursday. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who called Shinseki last month to lobby for the action, said the Oregon couple will become the...

Senate GOP blocks Hagel vote for now WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the nomination of former GOP senator Chuck Hagel as the nation’s next defense secretary over unrelated questions about President Barack Obama’s actions in the aftermath of the deadly raid on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Obama accused Republicans of playing politics with national security during wartime, and Democrats vowed to revive the nomination after Congress’ weeklong break....

AP Exclusive: Documents detail Nixon, Clinton ties YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — In the final months of his life, Richard Nixon quietly advised President Bill Clinton on navigating the post-Cold War world, even offering to serve as a conduit for messages to Russian President Boris Yeltsin and other government officials, newly declassified documents show. Memos and other records show Nixon’s behind-the-scenes relations with the Clinton White House. The documents are part of an exhibit opening Frid...

US Airways lands $11 billion merger with AmericanDALLAS (AP) — US Airways CEO Doug Parker has landed the big merger he sought for years. Now the soon-to-be CEO of the new American Airlines has to make it work. The fleet needs new planes and new paint. Frequent flier programs have to be combined. American's on-time performance must improve. And the airline needs to win back business travelers who have drifted to competitors. But Parker's nothing if not persistent. After months of courting, th...

Democrats to unveil bill to replace budget cuts WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies in the Senate are unveiling legislation Thursday to avoid a looming set of sharp, across-the-board spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic agencies in just two weeks. The measure would impose a minimum tax rate on million-dollar incomes and replace the automatic cuts, known as a sequester in Washington-speak, with cuts to much-criticized farm subsidies and more gradual ...

JFK memorabilia draws hundreds to Mass. town BOSTON (AP) — A preview of John F. Kennedy memorabilia including notes by his special assistant on the day the president was assassinated is drawing hundreds of people to the northern Massachusetts town of Amesbury. David Powers, who died in 1998, was Kennedy’s assistant and close personal friend of his and his wife, Jackie. Powers also was the first curator of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston until he retired in 1...

Mother says she forgave man who held boy in bunker The mother of an Alabama boy held for days in an underground bunker said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that she forgave her son’s captor early in the standoff and asked authorities not to harm him. Jennifer Kirkland’s son, Ethan Gilman, was a captive for six days in rural Midland City, Ala., before FBI agents entered the bunker and killed 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes. Dykes “took care of Ethan to the best of his abilities” by cooking chic...

Grad student sues, says C-plus cost her $1.3M EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Talk about grade inflation. Graduate student Megan Thode wasn’t happy about the C-plus she received for one class, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired degree and becoming a licensed therapist — and, as a result, cost her $1.3 million in lost earnings. Now Thode is suing her professor and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, claiming monetary damages and seeking a grade change. A judge is hearing testimony ...

Senators delay Brennan CIA vote over drone memos WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Intelligence Committee will delay voting to confirm John Brennan as CIA director as the panel’s Democratic chairwoman demanded Wednesday that the White House turn over more details about lethal drone strikes on terror suspects and last September’s attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left the U.S. ambassador there and three other Americans dead. Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said the vote likely will be pushe...

Want a home-cooked meal? It’s in the can NEW YORK (AP) — There’s nothing more satisfying than a home-cooked meal, especially if it comes out of a can or a pouch. As more people try their hand at mimicking sophisticated recipes from cooking shows and blogs, food companies are rolling out meal kits and starters that make amateur chefs feel like Emeril Lagasse or Rachael Ray in the kitchen. Call it the next generation of dinner-in-box sets like Rice-A-Roni and Hamburger Helper that were...

Warrant: Son, wife also suspects in court shooting DOVER, Del. (AP) — Authorities who uncovered a small arsenal kept by a onetime police officer who killed his former daughter-in-law and another woman at a Delaware courthouse said in a search warrant affidavit that investigators suspect the gunman’s wife and son of helping to plot the slaying. Monday’s killings were the culmination of a bitter, years-long custody battle involving the slain woman and the gunman’s son. The gunman, Thomas Matusie...

Carnival cancels 12 more cruises on troubled ship HOUSTON (AP) — Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before an engine-room fire left it powerless in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s announcement on Wednesday came as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom have complained to relatives...

Obama pitches manufacturing plan on plant tour ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Striking a decidedly populist tone, President Barack Obama stood in a resurrected factory Wednesday, imploring lawmakers to work as hard as American blue-collar workers as he pitched his plan to jump-start manufacturing and expand opportunities for the middle class. Hours after delivering his first State of the Union address of his second term, Obama issued a new challenge to a nation still picking itself up from an econ...

American Airlines, US Airways to merge DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines and US Airways will merge and create the world’s biggest airline. The boards of both companies approved the deal late Wednesday, according to four people close to the situation. The carrier will keep the American Airlines name but will be run by US Airways CEO Doug Parker. American’s CEO, Tom Horton, will serve as chairman of the new company until mid-2014, these people said. They requested anonymity because the...

Families of agents attacked in Mexico seek answers MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — The sister of a federal agent wounded in an attack in Mexico said Wednesday she hoped the lawsuit filed by her brother and the family of an agent who was killed will force the government to answer their questions. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila were attacked on Feb. 15, 2011, in their armored sport-utility vehicle near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, shortly after picking up some eq...

Boehner: Up to Democrats to prevent budget cuts WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday it’s unlikely the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate will prevent a wave of automatic spending cuts from beginning to strike the economy in two weeks. Yet he sounded hopeful about avoiding a partial shutdown of the government when a temporary spending bill expires next month. Cloistered in his Capitol office overlooking the National Mall, Boehner said in an intervie...

Wisconsin scientists help search for alien life MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks right here on Earth. Some of the rocks are up to 3.5 billion years old. The scientists are looking for crucial information to understand how life might have arisen elsewhere in the universe and guide the search for life on Mars one day. “There’s a story always hidden in...

Lexus, Porsche top vehicle dependability rankings DETROIT (AP) — If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s your car. Vehicles are more dependable than ever, says J.D. Power and Associates. The consulting company’s latest study, which measures problems experienced in the last year by owners of 3-year-old vehicles, found that reported problems fell 5 percent to the lowest level since J.D. Power began collecting this data in 1989. Lexus, Porsche, Lincoln and Toyota owners reported the fewest p...

Pentagon creates new medal for cyber, drone wars WASHINGTON (AP) — They fight the war from computer consoles and video screens. But the troops who launch the drone strikes and direct the cyberattacks that can kill or disable an enemy may never set foot in the combat zone. Now their battlefield contributions may be recognized with the first new combat-related medal to be created in decades. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Wednesday that the Pentagon is creating a medal that can be aw...

Do tax increases kill jobs? Minnesota soon to find out MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dik Bolger is a lifelong Minnesota Democrat, a gray-bearded baby boomer with a braid down his back whose Minneapolis printing company’s plant displays work by local artists and sculptors. He backed Mark Dayton for governor, but his take on the Democratic chief executive’s plan for new business taxes could be the voice-over for a Republican campaign commercial. “We’re screwed,” Bolger said, if the tax goes through. His 79-yea...